Clockwork
by BlackLily22
Summary: On a winter's night, Yusei is awoken to his phone and a job offer. While working, Yusei hears a strange tale of a boy clad in a red jacket coming from a grandfather clock. He thinks nothing of it, until he happens across a snow covered Judai on his way home. He takes him in, but got more than he bargained for. Yusei's POV, Starshipping (YuseixJudai), "Take It As you Want It" Fluff
1. The Clockwork Boy

**A.N~ This will be quick I promise dear reader. When I label this as a "Take It as You Want It" fluff/yaoi, I mean that if you wish to take this story as a light fluff between Yusei and Judai, then it can be done. However I have also written it so there is nothing overly explicit and the story can be seen with Yusei and Judai as friends. So feel free to "take it as you want it" because this story is borderline on both yaoi and non-yaoi, despite being classified as Starshipping.**

**Also, the characters that begin the story do not reappear, they are just filler and only appear in this chapter to present the problem of the story.**

**With that said, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy _Clockwork._**

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Chapter 1

The Clockwork Boy

The garage was cold as I cautiously opened my eyes, expecting to be greeted by bright light. Instead the garage was dark. Stretching I gazed around the room, trying to figure out what exactly had woken me up.

Stiffly, I rose from the chair I had fallen asleep in and glared at the clock, wondering if it was just time to get up. I squinted, reading 10:00. Wait 10? I drew closer to the clock, staring intently at the tiny two letters after the ten: PM.

So it wasn't the sun that had woken me up, so what was it? Perhaps there was someone at the door, but at this hour, it seemed unlikely. Still there was a possibility, so slipping into my jacket hanging off the back of my chair, I trudged up the stairs to the door and cautiously opened it a crack. A blast of cold air burst through the small crack, snowflakes twirling wildly in its grasp. Peaking outside, a world of white and gray greeted me. Snow blew around the courtyard in a blizzard like fashion, making it near impossible to see past five feet in front of you. I looked left and right, only finding piles of snow lying in soft white mounds against the garage's walls. Shutting the door, I headed back to my chair. As I was about to sit though, a vibration with a musical tone echoed through the garage. With a sigh, I grabbed my phone off the table, "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Yusei?" a woman's voice asked in a rushed, but sweet voice.

"Yes," I replied, waiting for her to continue.

"Oh, excellent! Listen would you mind coming to fix my heater? I wouldn't bother you with this bad weather, but no other repair company will come out and my kids are freezing. I'd pay you double what you normally charge for coming," the woman pleaded.

"Yea, I can come over. Just give me your address and I'll be there in a few."

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"Thank you so much for coming," the frail woman said, shaking my hand furiously. Her brown hair sprang in all directions from her loose bun and her thin glasses perched crookedly on her nose. She was short and sturdy, a pleasant but disheveled looking woman.

I chuckled, "It really isn't a problem, Mrs. Sully. Mind showing me where your heater is?"

"Oh, of course! This way," Mrs. Sully said as she turned on her heel and walked further into the house. Following her, I glanced around at the simple hallway, seeing neatly framed pictures and a small mirror. Mrs. Sully turned right, entering a small living room. Two kids, one boy and one girl, sat on the floor, bundled beneath coats so they resembled a marshmallow, and were playing a game of Duel Monsters. While they played, an old woman sat in a posh chair facing a tall antique grandfather clock, snoring lightly. Walking past them to the back of the room, I followed Mrs. Sully to a door leading to the basement. We walked down the stairs, dank air greeting my nostrils once we reached the bottom. Turning on a light, Mrs. Sully gestured to several tall iron boxes. "The furnace is over there."

I headed towards the direction she pointed, sliding out of my jacket and shivering as bare skin meet cool air. Setting down my tools and jacket, I set to work analyzing the internal working of the furnace, tampering with certain parts in hopes of sparking it back to life.

"So," I began, feeling obliged to make conversation. "How old are your kids?"

Mrs. Sully looked up at me, a soft smile etched on her kind face. "Well, Darrel just turned 11 this month and Alice is 7. Alice just got her first Duel Monsters deck and Darrel's been teaching her how to play nonstop for the last few days." She chuckled, "Darrel's dreaming of becoming a pro duelist like you. He's always going on about how amazing you are and how good you are at dueling. I'm surprised he didn't pounce on you when we walked past. He must have really been into his duel."

I smiled, "I'm honored he thinks that. They sound like sweet kids." That was all I needed to say for the conversation to continue, mainly with Mrs. Sully doing the conversing. My hands worked quickly but effortlessly, as I listened to her go on about her kids. I didn't say a word and was only half listening when I heard her ask, "How is your family? All in good health I hope?"

I froze while reaching for a screwdriver, eyes wide as I stared at my toolbox. My parents? I dropped my hand and face, shadows overarching my face, attempting to hide the sadness in my eyes.

Realizing something was wrong, Mrs. Sully apologized, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about things that aren't my business."

"It's okay Mrs. Sully. My parents died when I was young, but I hope wherever they are that they're happy," a smile stretched over my face, attempting to outshine the gloom of the subject.

Shock written on her face, Mrs. Sully stammered, "I'm so sorry, Yusei! I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"It's really okay. You didn't know and I never really knew them, so it's fine. Don't beat yourself up about it," I counseled, as I gathered up my tools. Standing up, I put the panel back on the furnace then flipped a switch, a warm roar responding to the action.

"There we go, good as new." I stood, rubbing my hands on my jeans.

"Oh thank you Yusei! You're a life saver!" Mrs. Sully said, clapping her hands together. "Come on upstairs and I'll get your pay." Following her up the stairs, I thought about the awkward conversation we had, wondering how my parents were.

Upon reaching the living room, Mrs. Sully turned around, interrupting my thoughts. "Wait here and I'll get your pay." I nodded, standing in the living room as she walked back into the hall. As I was putting on my jacket though, I felt a tug on my shirt. Looking down with only one arm through my jacket, I saw two bright blue eyes enclosed in a round face framed by brown curls staring at me. "Are you Yusei?" the little girl asked.

"Yes," I said with a smile. "And who are you?"

"I'm Alice," she said grinning, flashing a smile with missing teeth. Turning from me, she shouted across the room, "See I told you I saw him Darrel!"

Peeking around a sofa, a curly brown-haired boy frowned, "Alice, you're embarrassing me!"

"Oh come on Darrel," Alice whined, skipping over to her brother. Pulling his arms, "He's not going to bite. Stop being a chicken."

"I'm not a chicken," Darrel protested. Standing up straight, he marched to where I was standing. Thrusting out a shaking hand, he announced, "I'm Darrel. I'm your biggest fan and I wanna be just like you when I get older."

Chuckling, I shook Darrel's hand, "It's nice to meet you Darrel." I crouched to his level. "It's always great to meet someone with a passion for dueling like you. I heard you were teaching your sister to play, and that you have a pretty awesome deck."

Darrel perked up a huge grin on his face. "Yea I was! You wanna see it?"

Nodding, Darrel ran back to the couch, grabbing his deck and came back, thrusting the cards into my hands. Silence filled the room as I filed through the deck. Reaching the last card, I handed the deck back to Darrel, "You've got a good, strong deck Darrel. I bet if you work hard and believe in your deck enough, I may see you in the arena."

His mouth dropped open as I stood up, seeing Mrs. Sully enter the room again. Seeing his mom, Darrel began to rush towards her, but tripped, knocking into his sleeping grandma. This caused the grandma to wake up shrieking, "Where's the clock boy? I know I saw him. Clock spinning backwards, bright light, and BOOM a boy clothed in red coming out of the clock! It's the end of the world, attack of the clocks! Everyone run away!"

The granny started flailing her arms as she ran around the room shrieking. Mrs. Sully glared at Darrel, scolding him, "Darrel, you woke her up! Do you know how long it took me to get her to sleep? Oh Olivia, please don't run!" Mrs. Sully chased after the flailing grandma, Darrel following them, trying to stop her as well. Alice stood wide-eyed next to me as I choked back a laugh. They looked like a flock of chickens running without their heads, arms flailing and screeching at each other.

After this scene went on for ten minutes, the grandma calmed down again, tired from the frantic exercise. Settling back into her posh chair, the grandma continued to mumble to herself about the clock boy as she stared at the tall grandfather clock.

Sighing deeply, Mrs. Sully fixed her glasses, which stood at a 45 degree angle to her face. "Sorry about that Yusei. Our family isn't normally this chaotic."

I laughed, "Chaos is normal with me, so you can stop apologizing." Following her back to the door, I passed Darrel, stopping momentarily to say, "Good luck Darrel," and ruffled his curly head. He beamed as I closed the living door behind me.

As I put on my boots after being paid, I turned to Mrs. Sully curiosity peaked. "Do you mind if I ask what she was screaming about?"

This caught Mrs. Sully off guard, but she recovered with a nervous laugh, "Olivia? Oh yes, she's been going on this entire day about seeing a boy come out of the clock last night. She claims the clock started going backwards then there was a light and from that light came a boy wearing red. Really she's just a few plums short of a fruit pie, but with her old age I suppose it's normal for them to start seeing things that aren't there."

I thought for a moment before responding. "Yea, maybe she just needs more sleep. It seems ridiculous to think a person could come from a clock."

"Exactly my point," she sighed. "Although Olivia doesn't see it that way. Well, thank you so much again for coming out so late Yusei."

"Not a problem at all, Mrs. Sully. Give me a call if you have any more trouble with that furnace," I shouted over my shoulder as I left the quaint home.

I had spent a longer amount of time then I thought at the Sully household. It was pitch black as I walked home. The streetlights providing the only visibility in the night. Clouds hung heavily in the sky, letting large clumps of snow fall from the heavens. My breath came in a silvery mist as I wrapped my jacket tightly around myself, thankful for bringing my heavy jacket, for it was a long trek home.

I wasn't complaining about having to walk instead of ride. It was a nice change to see Neo Domino without a visor on and not speeding by. I walked slowly, taking in the city's silence of the late night and as Aki would say, "Stopping to smell the roses." Then again with her, everything was about roses.

The city echoed quietly around me, my footsteps crunched with snow from each step I took, being the loudest sound in the silence. It was strange, Neo Domino was rarely this quiet, but I suppose with sub-zero temperatures and raging blizzard earlier that night, most of its residence were probably enjoying the warmth of their homes. I watched with intrigue as the snow blew around me as I walked block after block. The wind began to pick up, throwing snow into my eyes and freezing my cheeks red.

I began thinking once again of Grandma Olivia and her bizarre proclamations to keep my mind off the cold. A clock spinning, a white light, a loud noise and a boy in red. Sounded like something from the start of a book, I mused. Coming from a clock, perhaps a time traveler? But that was ridiculous, there was only one way to time travel that I knew of and that was through the Crimson Dragon. She could be making this entire thing up though. But she was so serious when she was rambling, not to mention frightened with all that shrieking and flailing. Plus she went straight back to watching that old grandfather clock.

I walked without much direction, thinking only about the strange grandma. The snow began to fall harder than before as the temperatures dropped further. The snow crunched beneath my feet as I rounded the corner, the familiar courtyard greeting me. About 200 meters across both ways, a tall clock tower stared at me from across the snow-covered courtyard. In the gray distance, the skyline of Neo Domino was barely visible, the low clouds hanging on the horizon as a distant hum of traffic carried itself on the back of those heavy clouds. A fountain stood in the center of the yard and was frozen stiff, creating an array of strange geometric ice sculptures.

I worked my way through the clean snow, heading for the blue door beneath the clock tower. As I approached the blue beacon though, a snow-covered shape caught my eye. A snow pile only about a meter tall, sat next to the door. But this snow pile was different from the others. It was very oddly shaped.

Upon reaching the snow heap, I squatted down to its level, staring in wonder at what the heap was. Perhaps the postman had left the D-wheel parts I ordered earlier today. But this shape wasn't shaped like a box; it was too round and skinny. Cautiously, I reached out with a gloved hand and brushed the top layer of snow off the shape. As the snow fell from the top, more snow shifted causing a mini-avalanche to fall.

Exposed beneath the white blanket, was a young man with a bright red jacket and fuzzy brown hair. That hair looked familiar, so I brushed more snow off, revealing a youthful, pale face and shut eyes.

"Judai?" I exclaimed, stumbling backwards. How is that possible? He should be in his own era, so why was he here? And how did he find out where I lived?

Sitting in the snow, I stared at the sleeping Judai. He breathed heavily, his pale face contorted into a pained expression. His cheeks glowed a brilliant red, rivaling that of his Osiris jacket. Sitting back on my feet, I proceeded to brush the rest of the snow from him. He shivered when the blanket of snow was off but he didn't wake up. Why wasn't he waking up?

My heart beat faster as worry built-in my system. Taking off a glove, I reached out gently, caressing Judai's forehead, my warm fingers freezing when they touched his forehead. I felt my eyebrows furrow, realizing that Judai had probably been out in this weather for most of the day with just his duel academy uniform on to keep him warm.

Without thinking, I slid out of my thick jacket and draped it around Judai. The moment the jacket touched him, Judai grabbed it, snuggling beneath it till only his brown, furry head showed. If I weren't worried about his well-being, I would have laughed at the childish act. Thinking about it though, Judai was the definition of childish.

Standing back up, I wedged one of my arms between Judai and the wall and the other under his knee then lifted him into the air, the snow I had not brushed off, cascading through the air. He was surprisingly light for being only a few inches shorter than me. Despite being lifted, Judai didn't wake but instead nuzzled into my chest, his face hiding itself in the jacket. Heat rushed to my face, unsure of how to respond to this act. I brushed off my blush and carefully carried Judai through the door. The garage was as cold if not colder than outside, and up till then it had never bothered me. But Judai needed to get warm, not freeze into a Judai Popsicle.

Quickly I climbed the stairs to the three bedrooms, turning into the last one. Heat blasted out of the door, and for once I was thankful we paid the extra rent for heat. Still nuzzled against my chest, I heard Judai sigh and a small smile peeked beneath his lips, the pained expression replaced with one of contentment. Gingerly I laid him on my bed, and tried to move away, but every time I tried to squirm away from him he snuggled closer, his grip tightening and locking me in a bear hug around my chest. I chuckled, giving up on my feeble attempts to escape, I grabbed a quilt and threw it over the little snuggling sloth, and settled against the wall at the end of the bed.

Although I shut my eyes, I soon discovered that I would not be gifted with sleep. My mind whirled, hurling questions that had no answers. Why was Judai here? Did the Crimson Dragon take him from his timeline because dangers approaching? What else is there to worry about? After all, the Dark Signers are history and New Domino and Satellite have been united. Or was this even the Crimson Dragon's doing? Was Judai the boy who the old woman hallucinated about? That still doesn't answer why he's here.

I rubbed my eyes, hoping that would cease the questions. Peeking through my fingers, I glanced down. Judai was no longer hugging me to death, instead he laid in my lap. The color was returning to his face and upon touching his forehead I was relieved to feel it becoming warm once more. I let my hand slid down, running my fingers softly over the caramel hair. He was like a giant puppy. Always acting hyperactive and getting on one's nerves. Always yapping in your ear. Always needing to do something. Always batting big brown eyes at you to get what he wanted. But when the day came to an end and sleep called, he crashed hard, wearing innocence as his sleeping mask.

I sat there for who knows how long, stroking Judai's kuriboh hair and listening to his rhythmic breathing. I didn't care how strange this probably looked, and if Jack or Crow were to walk in, I'd never live it down. But an instinct had kicked in–not sure if it was brotherly, fatherly, or something else–to stay awake and protect Judai until he felt warm and I saw those large brown puppy eyes stare into my own.


	2. The Dream in Reality

_Dark. Such a simple word for something that holds more meaning in its four letters than most words combined. But there was no other word for this place except that. It was dark._

_I felt myself floating; my eyes squeezed shut in concentration. If I kept them closed, the darkness outside them wouldn't seem so dark. But I couldn't resist from opening them and staring into that never-ending dark._

_As I stared though, the world surrounding me began to lighten with an orange glow, warm and comforting as it fought away the dark. I found myself lying on a grassy slope as the orange glow chased away the dark. A single tree, green leaves ripe with summer beauty, stood behind me at the top of the slope. Past the grassy slope, a sea of darkness boiled and rolled in waves of black and purple as if it were in a tempest. I was on an island of light in a sea of dark._

_Standing up, I stretched, enjoying the stiff pain of extending muscles. I glanced at the tree, its branches swaying in a gentle breeze. Hiding in the upper most branches of the tree, the orange glow emitted between the branches, creating a halo of light around the tree's canopy. The glow was soft and gentle compared to the blaring dark background and it was a sight for sore eyes._

_I wanted to be closer to it, to feel the glow on my skin, to steal it from the tree and to keep it for myself. I walked towards the tree, looking up in its branches for the glow. But the branches were thick and obstructed any view of the glow._

_ This angered me, this denial to the warmth. I would not settle for it. The tree was mocking me and I would not have it. So, staring at the tree, I gripped the lowest branch and pulled myself up. The bark was rough, moss covering it in some places, a layer of wet skin to the already thick-skinned tree. Searching for the next branch, I reached and pulled myself up again, avoiding thin branches and breaking twigs as I did so. I kept climbing up the tree, getting higher and higher in its branches, never glancing down. As I climbed though, the branches seemed to get thicker rather than thinner. It felt like I was climbing through a labyrinth of branches and I was unable to tell up from down, left from right._

_ Still I climbed, jaw set with determination to find that light. I had to have it. This tree could not protect it from that rolling sea of darkness, but I could. I didn't know how, but I felt in my gut that only I could protect that glow from the sea of dark._

_ After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, a soft glow greeted my eyes from above the next layer of branches. Excitement raced through my veins, as I looked for a branch halfway between the glow and myself. There was none. I couldn't back down though, not this close to finding that glow. I coiled into a squat and balanced precariously on my branch, shifting to keep my balance and aligning myself with my goal. Taking one last breath, I jumped, releasing my legs and stretching my arms. The world seemed to go into slow motion as I flew through the air, the next branch seeming to get further away rather than closer. Just when I thought I would never reach the branch, my hands made contact with rough back, my palms scrapping against it._

_Hanging for dear life, I pulled myself up slowly, my arms burning from the exercise. Squatting on the new branch, I peered through the branches trying to find the glow. Gently, I pushed aside several branches, walking along my branch further from the trunk as I followed the growing orange glow._

_Pulling aside one last branch, the glow grew to a brilliant light, momentarily blinding me. When the light subsided, I peaked over my arms to find a room made from the tree's canopy, interlocking branches creating walls and a sturdy floor. Looking behind me, I discovered the branch I had come from replaced by a web of interlocking branches. Turning back around, I found the orange glow surrounding a young man with two-toned hair, the glow matching the top color of his hair. He was turned away from me, but his head was tilted down and he was hugging himself._

_"Judai," I asked, moving towards him. "Are you okay?" Cautiously I walked around Judai, coming to stand in front of him. "Judai," I said again, hoping he'd look up. He did nothing._

_"Judai!" I shouted, anger mixing with fear in my voice. Carefully, I reached for one of his hands that covered his face, and pulled it away from him. The hand dropped to his side as did the other, and with their fall, it revealed a face that made my heart hurt to see. Judai's face was red and tear streaked, his normally smiling mouth, now contorted into a mix between a frown and grimace. His eyes disturbed me the most. They flickered between two colors as tears streamed from their corners. The first color I saw was a soft warm chocolate color, gentle and innocent like a puppy's eyes. When he blinked though, they changed to an acidic gold, glowing with malice as he peered at me with slanted eyes. Then he would blink again and they'd be that gentle brown once more._

_I stumbled back a few steps, watching with worry as Judai's eyes rapidly switched between chocolate and gold. We both stood unmoving, the only sound was my beating heart and soft moans of crying from Judai. I didn't know what to do, frozen in place from shock and fear. Suddenly, Judai reached a trembling hand towards me, "Help…me," he stammered._

_Over my shock, I took a step towards him but suddenly he shouted, "Stay back mortal! Do not take another step!" His eyes radiated that acidic gold again, but then he closed his eyes, grabbed his head and whimpered as he curled into a ball on the ground. The canopy room grew dark as the glow that once surrounded Judai died to but a faint sliver of light against the dark._

_"Judai," I shouted, stepping towards him again. As I was about to take another step though, a loud crack echoed around the canopy. Looking around a dark purplish looking cloud began swimming along the edges of the room, crawling through the branches towards the center. Towards Judai._

_I started to lift my foot to take another step towards Judai, but another crack echoed through the room and I felt myself falling. I looked up as I fell, screaming for Judai as the dark clouds reached him and smothered out the little orange glow that was left._

_. . . ._

My eyes flew open, heart racing and breath coming out in gasps. What the hell was that? Those eyes, that dream, the darkness. I shivered, partially from the memory of the dream and partially from the cold sweat covering my body. Trying to get my breath back, I looked around the room, still dark except for a faint glow peaking from the window. Judai still slept soundly next to me, oblivious to my startled awakening.

God, how did that boy do it? A dragon could storm through Neo Domino and he would still be asleep I bet. Wish I could do the same. That dream left me weary and more exhausted than before. It seemed so real, but there's no way it could be.

Sighing, I tried to get the dream off my mind by watching Judai sleep. His head still lay on my lap, but he was curled into a human ball beneath my jacket, the quilt having slid off him while sleeping. He was shivering beneath the jacket, his face slightly flushed. Pulling the blanket over him, I felt his forehead again, my cool hands meeting a clammy and warm face.

"Damn it, he's got a fever now," I cursed. Gently lifting his fuzzy head, I got up from the bed and laid his head back on a pillow. He didn't move while I stirred or while I tripped around the room, changing into a fresh pair of jeans and shirt.

Taking one last look at Judai, I left the room, closing the door as quietly as I could, not that it would have mattered. As I walked down the stairs, my mind whirled with what to do first, thinking back to the time when Martha cared for me and the other kids.

Heading to the makeshift kitchen in the garage, I filled a pot with water and set it on a hot plate. As the water heated, I grabbed a mug and scooped some tea leaves into it. With that done, I went over to my computer, checking messages and scouring the news for anything that might explain why Judai was in this time period. Finding nothing, I sat in frustration.

The whistle of the teakettle interrupted my frustrated thoughts. I rose from my spot at the computer and walked to the pot, pouring the boiling liquid into the mug. The sweet and fresh smell of peppermint wafted as the tea leaves steeped, curls of steam rising in small clouds in the cold garage air. I stood there, staring at the mug, when I heard the soft creak of a door. Shaking myself from my trance, I grabbed the mug and turned to see Judai standing at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing up? It's much too cold for you to be in the garage. Go back to bed, I'll be up in a minute," I scowled, striding towards the stairs.

"Who are you to tell me what I should and should not do?" Judai growled. His eyes were cast down, staring intently at the floorboards. "If I wish to get up, so I shall. You are nothing, an insignificant worm. Yet you attempt to control me and command me? I should have you beaten for such a condescending tone and insulting gesture against your King."

"Your king?" I laughed. "Judai, I think the cold got to your head. The only thing you're a king of is being lazy." I started to climb the stairs when he shouted at me in a bone chilling voice, "Stay back mortal! Or so help you, I will send you to the greatest depths of hell!"

I paused, trying to understand why my hands shook. It was just Judai, hyperactive, sunny Judai. So why was I shaking as though a dark figure loomed behind me, tracing cold fingers across my neck?

No, it was just your imagination. I was overreacting from that dream last night. It was Judai standing at the top of the stairs. Not that other gold-eyed person I saw in my dreams. I continued walking up the stairs, stepping cautiously as though I were a mouse sneaking behind a cat. I got halfway up the stairs when Judai looked up, glaring at me. I froze. There were those same acidic, gold eyes from my dream, glowing with malice and anger. So it wasn't just a dream.

Stumbling back, I caught myself before I went tumbling down the stairs. Judai continued to glare as he hissed, "You dare disobey the Supreme King? You will pay for your defiance!" Judai took a step towards the stairs, arm stretched out. A dark purple glow emitted from his outstretched hand and a high-pitched squeal like a pig caught in a tornado filled the silent garage.

Suddenly, Judai put his hand down, the glow disappearing, and grabbed his head, screaming with a pained expression. "No! This is my world, I am in control," he screamed, tears streaking down his cheeks.

"Ha, you call this control? I've seen more control from a Ojama that's had one too many drinks. You are a weak fool that would be nothing without me. I give you power and what do I get in return? A closed up mind, never free from that dark prison. Always bottled within you. Always alone," he paused, wincing at a memory. "Well no more!" Judai shouted, yet his voice seemed deeper and edgier than before.

"No, I won't let you," Judai whimpered as he stumbled at the top of the stairs. Suddenly his knees gave out and with half closed eyes, Judai began falling forward down the stairs. As he tumbled, I braced myself as he whacked into me, knocking the mug in my hand to the floor and causing both of us to fall down the stairs. We tumbled down the rest of the stairs, me taking the blunt of the fall as I grasped Judai to my chest.

When we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, I didn't move. Wiggle the toes, now the fingers. Move the neck and arm, now the back. My body was sore and my breath uneven from it being knocked from my lungs, but I seemed okay. Sitting up, I was still cradling Judai against me. As I went to move him off me though, my arm sang with a stinging pain. Looking at it, I saw a large cut about the length of a cell phone across the top of my arm, soaking my jacket with crimson. How did that happen? But then I remembered the mug, which had fallen from my hand.

Gently, I moved my arm and moved Judai away from my chest. He was crying softly but for the most part he seemed unscathed from the tumble. He kept mumbling to himself, "Have to control… protect friends…no, don't…"

A soft expression enveloped my face and I clutched Judai, hugging him tightly and stroking his head as I tried to whisper words of comfort to him.

We sat like this until Judai fell back to a feverish sleep. Then I carried him back up the stairs to the bed, my arm screaming in protest. As I went to lay him down though, I realized Judai's jacket was damp. I mentally smacked myself. Why didn't I take his jacket off earlier? Of course he has a fever now, between sitting in the cold snow and sleeping in a damp jacket.

Picking him back up, I set him up right on the bed. Using my bad arm as a rest for him to set against, I used my other arm to work the jacket off of him. With some difficulty, I got his jacket off and threw it across the room, but realized with desolation that his shirt was just as damp as his jacket. The shirt was even more of a challenge then the jacket. Being a long-sleeved shirt that was pulled over his head with a collar, this shirt posed problems with taking it off a knocked out Judai. My arm seared in protest as I worked the stretchy material over that Kuriboh head. Once free I tossed it to the side as well.

Taking the now shirtless Judai off the bed, I rolled back the covers and sheets before putting him back in the bed and covering him up again. Despite only wearing pants now, he was breathing hard and sweating as though he had run 5 kilometers.

With Judai back in bed, I stumbled to the bathroom. Carefully stripping off my jacket, I examined the cut in the mirror; long with red liquid slowly streaming down my arm, the abrasion wasn't too wide, but it was very deep. I cleaned the wound, grimacing when the warm water hit raw skin and sighing when the antibiotic cream cooled the stinging pain. After dressing the wound, I stood staring at myself in the mirror. My hair seemed even more disheveled then normal, the yellow streaks dull seeming to have lost their luster. Faint dark circles lay in the shadows beneath my blue eyes, which shone dully from exhaustion, and my face was pale as though I had coated it with flour. Perhaps another hour or two of sleep wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I started back to the room but froze as the memory of the dream and Judai's eyes came to mind. No, sleep would have to wait.

Exiting the bedroom I stepped carefully down the stairs, avoiding the shattered pottery pieces. Once at the bottom I grabbed a towel cleaning up the mess from the fall. After cleaning, I went back to the teakettle, which was still warm, and made myself some tea. Sitting down in my familiar computer chair, I sipped my beverage as my thoughts ran tiredly round in circles always coming back to one question, "What the hell is going on?"

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**AN: So there's the first two chapters _Clockwork_. I'm still brainstorming for the next chapter so it may be a few days before I post again, but I hope you enjoyed what you've read so far. As many other authors have said, reviews and recommendations are always appreciated and taken into consideration, so don't be timid to leave one for me. I also apologize for any lingering questions you may have about the story. Hopefully I will be able to explain them more in the next chapter, but we'll have to wait and see.**

**~BlackLily22**


	3. Hitting the Edge

Chapter 3

Hitting the Edge

Placing my mug to the side, I watched as the remaining liquid rippled from the movement. It seemed such a simple and sad concept. One ripple was created and grew in size until it hit the rim of the cup, then it would fizz out, leaving no trace. But then another ripple would form and without knowing, it would follow the same path as its predecessor, always ending in a collision with a hard wall.

Mesmerized by the ripples, I failed to hear the first knock. However, the shrill shout from Kuro shook me from my thoughts. "Yo Yusei! You here? Open the door man, it's freezing out!"

Rolling my eyes, I got up and went to unlock the door. Snow fluttered lightly onto the dusty welcome mat as a snow capped carrot head walked in. "Jeez it seems like Neo Domino gets colder everyday."

"No, you just never wear a jacket, Kuro," I sighed, shaking my head.

He shrugged, "I was never really one for puffy coats Yusei. Plus the ladies love a man who can stand the cold. Shows them you're manly." He paused, flexing his biceps in an obscure and unbalance pose.

"Yea because getting frost bite is definitely a trait girls look for in guys," I joked pushing Crow lightly, causing him to lose his balance and go flailing about.

"Well you know not everyone can be a warmth seeking pussy Yusei," Kuro grinned, eyes alight with mischief.

"Oh you'll pay for that, broom-head," I laughed locking an arm around Kuro and rubbing my fist against his head in a noogie. Kuro complained and tried to break free, threatening to "turn that spiky, crab head of yours into a dinner dish with a side of butter."

Letting him go, we stood there laughing for several minutes. Man it felt good to laugh. It seemed like it had been ages since I last laughed.

As our laughter subsided, I remembered the sick Judai lying in bed. My smile instantly faded and the warmth the brief respite of laughter brought was snuffed out, replaced with cold worry and fear. Kuro made his way to a makeshift chair, throwing himself haphazardly into it. Looking back at me, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Everything okay, Yus? You look like you didn't sleep a wink."

Rubbing my forehead, I replied, "I didn't really. There were some… things on my mind." Seeing a worried expression on his face, I reassured him, "Don't worry about it. Things will be all right. Just need some time to sort them out."

"Well if you say so, I'll take your word for it." Kuro shrugged. "Just know if you need anything that I'm here for you."

Nodding, I walked towards my cell phone that lay on the desk next to my laptop. Silence enveloped the garage as I checked my messages, cursing to myself for the number of repair calls I'd received. These would take all day to do, and I couldn't leave Judai alone in the state he was in, but I couldn't abandon my work either.

An idea struck, though I didn't particularly like it. I turned to Kuro, watching as he raised a quizzical eyebrow. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I may take you up on your offer sooner then expected, Kuro," I started. "I have something that needs looking after, but I've got work to do today. So I was thinking you could maybe watch over it for me till I get back?"

Kuro laughed heartily. "Is that what's bothering you? And here I thought someone was dieing or something. Alright, I've got nothing better to do. Sow where is this thing? Is it a puppy? Did you get a puppy without telling me Yusei? Oh you sly dog you… ha that's funny! You know? 'Cause we're talking about dogs and…" I let Kuro ramble about bad puns as I lead him upstairs to my bedroom door.

Pausing with my hand on the doorknob, Kuro paused in his ramble about when a dog chewed his shoe in the Satellite. "It's not a puppy exactly," I commented and opened the door.

"Shit."

The room lay empty. The bed disheveled, but lifeless and the red jacket and black shirt that were on the floor were now gone.

Kuro peeked behind me, wedging his way past me into the bedroom. He crotched next to the bed and ducked his head to the side as he whistled a short shrill note. "Here puppy, puppy. Where'd you go?"

Recovering from my shock, I gazed around the room, spying the window, its shutters rattling in the cold morning breeze. Quickly I strode to the window, sticking my head out it. The wind met my face with a cold blast of air, running its cold, wispy fingers through my spikes and tugging on them. I did my best to ignore the clingy wind and looked at the ground, spying a trail of footprints leading from the window.

"Damn that little son of a bit…" I cursed.

"Oh so it's a boy dog!" Kuro exclaimed as I rushed past.

"This isn't funny Kuro," I scowled as I hurriedly tugged my boots on. "Do me a favor and stay here in cause he comes back. He's got brown hair and brown eyes…" I trailed off as a vision of the acidic gold eyes came to my mind. Shivering I pushed the image to the back of my head and worked on getting my boots on.

"That's certainly specific. Alright I'll stay here where there's food and it's nice and warm to wait and see if your bitch comes howling back home," Kuro replied, settling onto the couch.

Ignoring the last comment, I rushed into my jacket. Once I finally had the jacket on, I raced up the stairs and out the door.

A bitter wind greeted me as I jogged to the back of the building where I stopped to examine the set of footprints. They headed away from the building and through an alleyway. Thank the Crimson Dragon the snow was so deep or else finding Judai would be near impossible.

I followed the prints, jogging at a brisk pace, my heart racing but not from the exercise. Why would that boy run away? He knows who I am. We defeated an evil mad man who went around hurting innocent people with card games together. So why did he flee as though I were a stran… I skidded to a stop, my hand flying to my face in a face palm. He didn't know where he was because I was stupid and wasn't in the room when he woke up. For all he knew, he could have been in a serial killer's house. Fleeing would be the most logical decision for someone in that position. That's the second stupid mistake I've made today. I hoped for Judai's sake that I wouldn't make another one.

The cold refreshed me as I followed the tracks, my exhaustion from little sleep all but gone, replaced with adrenaline and worry. It's a good thing Judai isn't as dumb as he looks, grabbing his shirt and jacket before leaving. Still didn't improve the situation, but it made me feel a little less guilty for not being there for him. That won't happen again. I'll decline those repair jobs when I find Judai, and stay by his side until he is 100 percent healthy. That way he won't feel alone. Alone with those eyes and that voice. No one as sweet mannered as Judai deserves to be alone.

I sped up at this thought, determination to fulfill the promise fueling my speed. The wind had begun to cover the prints, making it difficult to follow them, but I proceeded on, praying I was heading in the right direction. I followed the prints out of the alley to a deserted, open street; the grey light of dawn barely penetrated the heavy clouds. The streetlights flickered, preparing to cease their tiresome glow from the night. I had to hurry. The city was beginning to awaken, early morning risers already heading out for work. If I wasted any more time, following Judai's prints would be near impossible.

Crossing the street in a diagonal, the path lead to another alleyway, darkened with shadows and stuck between two tall sky scrappers. I slowed down my pace, cautiously entering the shadows. As my eyes adjusted to the little light in the alleyway, I scanned the ground for the next set of prints. I stood still as I followed the steps with my eyes, seeing that they went only about halfway down the alley before stopping. I ran to the edge of the path and eagerly looked around, expecting a door of some kind.

Instead I found a slumped over Judai leaning against a wall. His breath came in quick pants, making little grey clouds of mist in the chilled morning. I let out a sigh of relief. Besides being cold again and probably having a 102 fever, he seemed okay. I squatted down to his level, balancing on the balls of my feet.

His eyes were closed in a grimace, and I felt my heart throb with pain from his expression. Gently I reached out and stroked his face. Upon my touch, his eyes shot open and I saw my worst fear. Stumbling backwards and falling into the thick snow, those gold eyes and I held a stare for several minutes. Terror racked my body stiff, rendering me incapable of moving or running. It felt as if the darkness of the alleyway was leaning in on us, suffocating me in the enclosed space.

"You dare touch me mortal?" the gold-eyed Judai growled, pushing against the wall as he stood up. "You dare touch the Supreme King while he gathers his strength? First you disobey my commands and cause this body to become hurt and now you have the nerve to touch me? To touch your ruler, your king?"

I couldn't move. I wanted so much to stand up and shake Judai until he was back to normal, but those eyes held me fast. Insignificant and small. Those are the only two words I can think of to describe how his presence made me feel. Here I've battled Dark Signers with their giant Earthbound Immortals and Paradox with his Malefic dragons. But this was completely different. When I was against the Dark Signers, I had the help of my friends to push their evil plans into the dust and when I fought Paradox, the King of Games and Judai helped me. But I was alone now. My friends were not here and the one person that could help was the one that was staring at me. It was so cold in this loneliness.

Suddenly, I remembered what the gold-eyed boy had said to me before, "A closed up mind, never free from that dark prison. Always bottled within you. Always alone." Judai had obviously felt this loneliness, otherwise why else would he act this way? And I had made a promise, to stay by his side and not let him be alone. I looked back at the gold-eyed boy again. Despite the rigid scowl on his face, his hands shook.

Closing my eyes briefly, I stood up, fighting against the oppressive darkness and the glare of those eyes. I made a promise, was all I kept thinking as I walked towards Judai.

"What are you doing mortal?" Judai asked, suspicion tinting his voice. He moved away from the wall, backing away from me and towards the street.

"You said you were always alone, Judai," I said slowly, staring intently into the gold eyes. "Well, no one should be alone."

"Stop," the deep voice trembled as Judai continued to back up. "I don't need your pity. I am the Supreme King. You should fear me, not pity me!"

I shook my head. "Even so, kings deserve pity more than the rest of us. Never being free to do what they wish. Always confined to rules. Always alone."

Continuing to walk backwards, Judai stumbled, falling onto the open sidewalk. More people were awake now, and curious eyes watched me as I continued towards Judai.

"Stay back mortal!" The gold-eyed Judai shouted, his voice trembling in fear. "I want nothing to do with you or your pity!"

I smiled gently, stopping a few feet from him. "Judai," I whispered softly so only he could hear it.

Those gold eyes widen in fear, his face flushed and his breath even more rapid than before. "No," he stammered. "You can't have him. He's mine!"

"Judai." I whispered again, a little more stern than before. "You've let this go on long enough. You're not alone. I'm right here. And I won't be going anywhere. I promise." I squatted down again, reaching my hand out. "Let's go back home."

Time seemed to freeze as I waited for Judai to reach for my hand. There was only he and I. The world didn't matter then. All that mattered was Judai.

Suddenly, Judai broke the spell, slowly reaching for my hand, his eyes flickering between a cold gold and a warm brown. His hand trembled as he reached for me. But just when he was but a few centimeters from touching my hand, he raised his hand directly up until it aligned with my chest. A purplish glow emanated from his hand, and tears glistened down from gold eyes as he whispered in a small, trembling voice, "Yusei. Forgive me."

Purple engulfed my vision as I felt myself fly backwards, hitting the ground hard despite the snow. It felt like five cement blocks were lying on my chest and my breath came out in pained gasps. I heard the distant screams of pedestrians and someone calling for help. My eyes began flickering, that familiar darkness creeping into my vision. The last thing I was able to see was Judai, his hand still outstretched, staring at me wide eyed and crying, his eyes a warm but sad brown.

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**A.N~ Huzzah! Chapter 3 is done! What'd you think, dear reader? I know it's not much from a shipping and yaoi stand point, but I'm sorry I just don't believe in the whole they see each other for the first time or they know each other from one encounter and they fall in love. It takes time, which is what I am doing. So give it time. It's mainly fluff which is how I like it. :D**

**Let me know what you guys think and if I should continue it.  
**

**~BlackLily22**


	4. Of Rooms and Mirrors

Chapter 4

Of Rooms and Mirrors

_I was floating again. That familiar darkness was an ocean surrounding me and I floated within it, finding it difficult to breath from its oppressive grasp. My body was stiff and I could only move my eyes, despite there being nothing to look at._

_ I hoped with all my might that perhaps this was the same dream as before, that I would come across the island and tree with the glow emanating from Judai. Perhaps this time I could save him. That'd be a good dream, one that may even be graspable in reality._

_ That would not be the case though._

_ I floated in that familiar, suffocating darkness, letting my thoughts wander until the black slowly faded to a grey and then a brilliant white. I flinched, shielding my eyes from the light, wanting the darkness back instead. As if on command the brilliant light died down to a warm glow. _

_ No longer floating I wiggled my fingers on the new surface I lay on. Gritty and small, the substance was slightly warm and stuck to my palms after lifting them from the ground. A distant sound of thousands of gallons of water crashing into a solid surface greeted my ears, bringing a ringing with them._

_ Opening my eyes and shaking my head in hopes of stopping the ringing, I glanced around at the new surroundings. A beach with white sand lay before me, meeting a crystal blue ocean, rolling in choppy waves against the beach. Behind me the beach sloped into a series of sand dunes, nothing on the horizon except for a small dot._

_ Getting up, my feet moved on their own accord, turning towards that distant dot and heading towards it. I walked across the dunes, the sound of rolling waves never stopping no matter how far I drew from the edge of the beach. In fact, they sounded even closer than before. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw to my horror the waves chasing after me across the dunes, washing away the sand with ease in their furious churning. The water was no longer a crystal blue, but a sickly dark blue, bubbling and thick as oil. A stench of pure malice radiated from the blackened waves and the once white foam was now a malevolent purple. _

_ I started running as the waves of the sickly water grew closer, licking my heels. I ran long and hard, my breathing becoming even more difficult as I ran. The waves crashed and roared behind me, laughing at my feeble attempts to escape. The dot on the horizon was growing in size, as I ran, but not fast enough. _

_ Just when I thought my lungs would burst and I felt myself trip face first onto the sand dune, I felt a throb in my right arm. Instinctively I grasped the arm in hopes of stopping the throbbing. Instead of stopping the throbbing, it grew worse and a new sound made its entrance in the orchestra of madness the waves were producing. A shrill but ear-pleasing roar broke through the sounds of the crashing waves. The world turned red in a flash of light. But as soon as the flash came, it was gone, along with the sounds of the waves and shrill roar._

_ Opening my eyes, I saw only the white sand dunes, all trace of the bubbling ocean gone. My arm had stopped throbbing, and instead seemed to purr, a soft vibration that tickled my skin. Raising myself back up, I took a deep breath as I continued my trek towards the dot._

_ As I walked, I heard distant cries, as if they were the cries of angels in the sky. I was able to make out some of their obscure screams. "I need the scalp, Nurse!" "Hurry before another lung collapses!" "Where's my chest tube Cheryl?"_

_ They were all so distant, other worldly sounding voices, and their statements puzzled me. I brushed off the strange voices though as the dot grew to a recognizable shape. I picked up to a light jog as the dot became a rectangle that became a door. It was a simple door, tall and about three times as wide as me. It was made from a grey metal, aged with from wear, its sheen dull, and stained with dark crimson stains splattered across its surface. The handle was an iron bar that ran parallel to the door frame, and a small blacked out window lay in the center of the upper part of the door._

_ The door radiated a strange aura. Not quite one of malice but not a friendly aura either. I felt my Signer mark purr again, creating a sensation of needles pricking my skin._

_Curiosity piqued, I grasped the door handle and pushed. _

_My eyes readjusted quickly, going from brilliant light, open space to a dimly lit room. I walked into the room cautiously, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. I heard the creek of the door closing as I entered, and when I turned back around I found the door gone, replaced with several small rectangular mirrors. _

_Turning back around, I found more rectangular mirrors in the dimly light space. It wasn't a room per say, for I saw no walls, but it didn't have the same ambience as the darkness I had floated it. _

_I continued walking, avoiding the rectangular mirrors and keeping a watch for any sign of movement. As I walked, the mirrors seemed to move out of the way for me, guiding me towards something. I was suspicious of what the mirrors were leading me to, but I allowed it to lead me. _

_Just when I thought following the mirror's path was useless, a rather large mirror moved in front of me. I stopped, staring at the reflection. It was not my own reflection though, a very pale and scared looking boy with a red jacket stared back at me. As I moved my hand so did Judai. When I tried smiling though, Judai just stared glumly back at me. I reached towards the mirror, but as I did, the mirror cracked and shattered to reveal another door similar to the one I walked in through, dark and cold._

_Opening the door, I found a blank room sprawled before me. Completely white, there was no furniture and no windows, just the flickering of a harsh fluorescent light. Standing in the corner of the room was none other than the red jacket Osiris, Judai. He stood at the corner farthest from the door and was facing a wall._

_However we were not the only two in the room. A strange black shadow resembling the shape of a person hovered near Judai, twisting and twirling slowly around Judai. It leaned on his shoulder whispering in his ear only to twirl away and move to the other ear to continue whispering._

_Observing this scene for some time, I overheard the whispers of the shadows as it talked, "He left us Judai. He deserted us and broke his promise."_

"_But I made him leave. I hurt him," Judai stammered weakly. His whole body shook and dripping down his hand was a purple liquid that pooled on the white floor._

"_No Judai, you did what was right. He would have left you anyhow. He would have hurt you, so you hurt him before that happened. You did nothing wrong. He couldn't be trusted after all. You know you can trust me though," the shadow hissed, pausing in front of Judai. As it paused, its form stopped shifting and morphed into a duplicate of Judai. "Have I ever lead you wrong about these things? I have always been here for you. I will never desert you like so many others."_

"_Never desert me?" Judai asked, looking up at the figuring slowly. "Really?"_

_The dark shadow nodded. Judai's head dropped back down, staring at the floor. "He deserted me. That's right, he left me alone in the snow, never once looking back when he left. I don't need him."_

_The shadowy figure continued to nod, whispering words of agreement to Judai. He then walked towards Judai, outstretching his arms and tilting his head in a way of beaconing Judai to come in for a hug. Judai obliged, nuzzling his head into the shadows, as the shadow openly engulfed his sadness. As he did so, he glared up at me with acidic gold eyes, a toothy and malevolent smile pasted on his face. "He's mine," he whispered._

* * *

I did not want to open my eyes. Light radiated from outside my lids, threatening to blind me even when I had them shut. Yet I heard worried whispers. For once why couldn't I do what was best for me? Just stay in the dark, away from that blinding light.

Slowly my eyes fluttered open, gazing lazily around the room. I was in a hospital room, clean and small with only the one bed I lay in, a few chairs and a nightstand. There was a window with its blinds drawn closed, but even with them closed, the brilliant sun of evening shone through.

Within the chairs sat familiar faces, but none of whom I had wanted to see. Kuro and Jack sat staring at me, relief replacing their tired looks. A plump nurse stood just inside the door, a smile of gratitude on her lips.

I smiled weakly at them, causing Jack to shout, "Yusei, you idiot!" as he punched my shoulder. Wincing, I stared quizzically at him, waiting for him to continue. "Don't worry us like that!"

"I'm sorry?" I replied, fumbling over the words. What the hell was I to be sorry for? Shaking off the thought, I started to set myself up, but stopped halfway through my attempt as a pain racked through my torso causing me to gasp.

"Mr. Fudo, please refrain from moving," the nurse said as she waddled over to me and placed a hand gently on my shoulder. "You still have a long way to go before your bones and lung are healed."

"Healed?" I asked, looking down at my chest that was now free from the blankets. My chest was bond with bandages, but my shoulders were bare, showing rough, red, blistering skin, as though it had touched a hot plate.

Feeling nauseous, I put my head down again and asked, "What the hell happened?"

The room grew quiet as the memories of what happened came rushing back. Judai. Ignoring the nurse's protests, I painfully sat up, staring at Jack and Kuro. "Where's Judai?"

The two stayed silent, looking at the floor. Anger rose in my throat as I repeated the question, "Where is Judai? Jack?"

He snapped up, looking at me with a set jaw. "If you mean the kid who did this to you, he's with the Public Security Bureau downtown, but there's a doc down there that's testing him for 'possible instable cognition.' Last I heard from Mikage was they declared the kid insane and put him in solitary confinement until they find out more information about who he is and why he did this."

"They put him in solitary confinement? That's the worst possible thing they could have done!" I roared, wincing as my lungs protested from the rush of air. Panting, I gathered my breath back and continued, "He needs to be in a hospital but not in that type of hospital. He's sick and they send him to the police for investigation? Why didn't you stop them, talk some sense into them? Why didn't you…" but Jack cut me off.

"Because he almost killed you Yusei!" Jack shouted. "You've been unconscious for four days and the doctors weren't even sure if you'd ever wake up. That's why we didn't do anything to help the kid, because you're more important to us than a kid we barely know."

I shook my head. "You don't understand who 'that kid' is Jack. He's got some serious problems that I know how to fix if I could just see him. Plus since when were we so proud as to deny a kid off the street help? That's not how we do things Jack."

The room grew silent as each of us wallowed in our own thoughts. The nurse broke the silence, "Mr. Fudo I must insist that you sit back down and rest please. You should not move more than you need to."

"I don't care," I said throwing the blanket off of me. My entire torso screamed with pain from moving my shoulders and chest, and my head spun, but I gritted my teeth and continued to stand up. The nurse continued to protest, grabbing my arms and trying to gently force me back into the bed. Jack and Kuro then stood and rushed over to help the portly lady stop me. I muffled a scream as Jack roughly grabbed my blistered shoulders and Kuro pulled my torso back onto the bed. Meanwhile I heard the nurse radio something, and a large man clad in all white and carrying a very large needle came into the chaotic room. With Kuro and Jack holding me down, the man roughly grabbed my arm and jabbed a needle into it, dispensing a clear liquid through the syringe.

I struggled for several more minutes, cursing and cussing every word I knew at them in anger and pain. But what ever the large man had ejected into my veins was working and I felt my muscles relax more as my eyes drooped shut again.

* * *

**A.N~ I apologize now dear reader. I said that I would answer more questions about why Judai is here and what is wrong with him in this chapter, but it seemed more natural to stop here then to continue on. I also apologize for you having to muddle through another dream, but I promise this one was a little more significant than the last one (though that one was definitely meaningful), and perhaps you can infer about what's going on a little bit. Let me know your predictions, it'd be interesting to see what you guys think. :D**

**A thank you to all the people who left kind words of encouragement about this story, even if it was just "update soon please" it means a lot, because it shows that someone else shares an interest in what happens in my story. So thank you all. *Hugs**

**I promise I will update with in the next week or so. I've already begun the next chapter which will hopefully be a bit more eventful and provide some answers, but no guarantees. Leave your comments on what you think of it and if there is something I should consider editing.  
**

**~BlackLily22**


	5. Smothering the Light

Chapter 5

Smothering the Light

When the effects of the drug had finally worn off and I was able to open my heavy eyelids, the light was no longer shining through the window and the fluorescent lights of the hall were turned down.

Slyly, I glanced to where the chairs sat, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw them empty. However, as I tried to lift my arm up to rub my eyes, I found a large, leather strap encircling my wrists. I panicked as I realized that all four of my limbs had been strapped down to the bed. The straps pinched my skin, set extremely tight for extra security I suppose.

I bet this was Jack's idea.

I tried pulling against them and sliding out of them, but nothing seemed to budge and, if anything, made the straps pinch even tighter and rub my wrists. As I frantically moved around, I discovered that the chain connecting the straps to the bed encircled the metal post of the bed, allowing me to shift the chain side to side. Twisting my arms one at a time, I moved so the straps moved along the bed post until I had both my hands above my head and the chains were clinking together.

Fumbling with the straps, I worked meticulously on unbuckling the straps around my hands. The hard leather of the straps rubbed and pinched my skin, and I bite my lip as I saw a small trickle of blood drip down my wrist. My shoulders screamed as the burns rubbed the rough sheets and I was panting, my lungs feeling like they would burst.

Once I finally freed my hands, I sat up in the bed, and worked on the straps tying down my legs. It was a tedious and clumsy process, the drug that I was injected with making me fumble more than normal and my vision fuzzy at times. My body screamed in pain from the slightest movement, but all I did was grit my teeth in response. Judai's voice echoed in my head, "Forgive me, Yusei." He had been crying, he knew what he was doing but he obviously couldn't stop whatever force was controlling him. And with that dream, I was more than positive that there was something living in Judai, feeding off his sorrow and loneliness. Something dark, smothering his light.

After several minutes of fumbling, I stretched my legs, enjoying the movement of the sore muscles. Carefully, I got off the bed, looking for my shoes and other clothes. In one of the chairs, I found a neat folding of clothes, my boots sitting on the floor beneath the chair. A simple pair of jeans, black tee shirt, and a canvas jacket, it's like they knew I would be leaving, though I would have preferred my thicker jacket and familiar jeans, but this would work.

Quickly, I changed out of the hospital pants and into the clothes, cautiously sliding the shirt over my tender shoulders and bandaged chest. Dressed and boots on, I walked quietly to the door, peaking through the small window in the door, searching for doctors, but only finding an empty hallway.

Darting out of the door, I ran down the hallway, slowing down only when looking for the red "exit" signs at the top of the doors. I ran past several nurses, and doctors, each one screaming for me to stop and slow down, but I disregarded them and kept running. I would not let them keep me from finding Judai any longer. Things would get even worse if I didn't help him. I don't know why I thought this, it was just a gut feeling, and my Signer mark pulsed lightly as though agreeing with my gut.

Breaking through the doors, I breathed deeply, letting the cold air resurrect my lungs, bringing a new energy and determination into my body. The wind blew bitterly and snow swirled in the empty street, dancing a lively swing, twirling and jumping through the air. The sky was clear except for the occasional cloud speeding along the back of the wind. Perfect night for a jailbreak.

I picked up my pace to a steady jog, ignoring the sharp pain from my lungs as they protested the urgent exercise and rushing air. Jack said they were holding Judai downtown in the Public Safety Bureau, about a twenty-minute walk from the hospital. I wrapped the canvas jacket tighter around me, and pushed on. I wouldn't let anything else slow me down from seeing Judai and helping him. The dark dream still hung in my mind, an oppressive cloud sucking my hope and leaving dread, and what was this other emotion? Was it fear? Was I fearful of Judai?

I looked at my hands, seeing them tremble despite not being cold. No, I shook my head at the thought. Judai was same as ever. He wasn't that person who hurt me, and no way would he purposefully want to hurt someone. This is Judai I'm talking about, hyperactive, friendly Judai. Sure he may have a few problems, but who doesn't. Those things wouldn't make Judai do what he did. There was something else going on, and I would find out what, even if it killed me.

The wind continued to blow, chilling me through the canvas jacket and making it even more painful to take deep breaths. I slowed to a walk as I recognized that the Public Security Bureau was coming up. As I rounded the corner, I saw the massive building standing ominous and dark across the street, only a few lights near the top of the skyscraper burning with light.

I rummaged through my memory, trying to think where they may be holding Judai; then again, it might be a good idea to start with getting into the building. With several security guards and cameras, the front doors were out, leaving the back entrances and emergency exits. I jogged slowly to the back of the building, avoiding trash bins and passed out drunks. A single overhead light flickered above a door. Praying for some good luck, I jiggled the door handle, hearing with relief the creek of the door. For the head building of Public Security, their own security was very lax.

I ducked into the dark corridor, closing the door behind me. Feeling my way along a wall, I walked in the gloom of the hallway, hoping I was heading towards stairs. Every 50 meters or so, a single fluorescent light shone dully in the abrasive dark, it's light feeble and wavering. I walked like this for a while, turning corners and following walls in hopes of finding stairs. I found them near an exit sign, and began my ascent up the gloomy stairwell.

There were large black painted numbers on each floor and next to each number, a small plastic plaque read what was on the floor. I climbed six floors before finding anything remotely helpful.

"Containment and Holding," that should be helpful. Opening the door, I entered a familiar hallway that looked exactly like the one on the main floor. Steel doors lay on both sides; some had a small window, but not many. Using the little light provided by the flickering fluorescents, I read the small fonted whiteboards next to each door, searching for anything relating to Judai.

After several attempts and several minutes of staring at various doors, I found one that said something promising, "Red Jacket Boy (Name Undisclosed)." My heart skipped a beat with hope, and quickly I grabbed the doorknob, only to find it locked by a key code pad. Squatting down to be eyelevel with the lock, I broke off the front panel to reveal its under wiring. Working quickly, I rewired and pulled out a few wires, resulting in the click of the door lock . Standing back up, I pushed the heavy door open.

Inside I saw only grey, floor to ceiling. A lone cot lay against one wall, untouched and unused, and huddled in the corner was the red-coated Judai. He's knees hid his face and he was holding himself in a tight hug, as though afraid if he let go, he would lose himself.

Walking towards him I asked concerned, "Judai, are you okay?" He didn't say anything in response or when I squatted down next to him. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you the last few days. I was asleep for most of them. Seems like I'm becoming the slacker now," I mused hoping to see Judai smile. He didn't even look up, but mumbled under his breath, "Hurt him, how could I? Only friend and I hurt him. Now I'm alone, so alone."

I let this sink in for a moment before replying. "Judai, you didn't hurt me," I lied, doing my best not to show any signs of pain. "See I'm fine, I'm right here. So you aren't alone either. Like I promised before, I won't leave you. So let's just…" but Judai looked up at me, interrupting me. "But you did leave me. You weren't here, so I was alone. You are a liar and a traitor and I don't want to see you, so just get out." He was crying through gold eyes, but it was still his voice rather than the oppressive deep one those gold eyes normally brought.

Smiling gently, I shook my head. "Not willingly Judai. They had to bind me down and tranquilize me to keep me from coming here. And how many times do I have to tell you? You aren't alone, at least not anymore." I stared at him, hoping he would see how sincere I was.

He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing deeply and lip quivering with anger. "No, you left him alone mortal. I was there for him when you were not, and to think I had so hoped to never have to deal with you again, yet here you are. You're like a bad penny, and bad pennies need to be forgotten," Judai growled in a deep voice.

Before I could respond, Judai grabbed me by the shoulders and stood up, taking me with him. He then slammed me against the wall, causing me to gasp in pain as my ribs vibrated from the impact and my burned shoulders screamed in agony. He then strode towards me, grabbing my neck with one hand, pointing his other hand at my face, the purple glow emitting from around his outstretched hand.

We stood like this for several minutes, me staring calmly at Judai, despite the trembling of my hands, and Judai glaring at me with raw hatred. His grip tightened on my neck as he growled, "Why can't I do it? It would be so simple, ever so simple to snap that fragile neck of yours, to tighten my grip and watch you squirm, to make you beg for mercy and grovel for the end. And yet I find myself unable to do any of these things. Why can't I discard you? Why?" He yelled at me, lowering his outstretched hand and leaning in close to my face, breathing heavily.

I just smiled, all fear gone from my system. "Because the real Judai wouldn't do that to a friend."

He froze, staring intently at me, bewilderment on his face. This was quickly replaced with fury as he balled his fist and punched me in the stomach. Gagging, but still being held upright, Judai's hold tightened, my breath squeezing out as a mere whisper. He was barely a breath away from me, and although his face displayed fury, those eyes were shifting between gold and brown. He was at war within those eyes, and there was only so much I could do to help him control whatever gold-eyed being Judai was turning into. I wanted to tell him how he would never hurt a friend and that it wasn't his fault he hurt me. How he won't be alone anymore and how he never was truly alone. How this strange gold-eyed Judai was no friend to him. What can I say though if I am unable to speak? How the hell do I show him these things when I can't move my head?

Lifting my arms, I wrapped them around Judai, bringing him closer to me. I felt his arms bend and fall to his sides as I hugged him. He continued to stare past me, but I put my head near his ear and whispered, "Judai, I'm here. I'm fine. You're fine. Everything will be okay, but you have to control him. He doesn't want you to be alone, and the thing is, you aren't alone. Even when I'm not here hugging you, I'm still with you. So, please Judai, listen to me, let's get out of here and figure out what's going on. But I need your help to do that."

Judai didn't say anything, but he didn't start strangling me again, which I figured was a good sign. Neither of us moved, and I held my breath in hopes of some positive response from him. Just when I thought he would never move and I would have to drag him out of the building, I felt Judai stir. His dropped arms slowly moved to grasp me around my torso and his head sank against my shoulder. He cried softly as he said, "Thank you, Yusei."

I smiled and whispered, "It's what friends are for Judai."

I let Judai cry for a while, waiting for his sobbing to stop before trying to leave. Somehow it felt as if I were to let go of him, he would lose himself again, and not come back this time. So I let him stay on my shoulder, tightly hugging my torso as if grasping onto reality. He was warm, perhaps still suffering from that fever from a few days ago, but it was a warmth that normally came with hanging around Judai. A pleasant warmth, like the feeling one gets when hanging out with a child in a candy store.

After a while, I heard his crying soften into nothingness, and his breathing became regular and slow once more. "Judai?" I asked, pulling away from him. He's head lay on my shoulder still, but his eyes were tightly shut, cheeks red and tear stained.

I shook my head. Why did he always fall asleep when I was around? I didn't want to wake him though, so carefully, I picked him up, that fatherly instinct, if you want to call it that, kicking in. Of course he fell asleep in the middle of the Public Security Bureau in a solitary confinement cell. Him being awake would be much too easy, and it seemed as of late, things were never easy.

Sighing, I opened the door and shuffled through it, heading back towards the stairs. Eight flights carrying Judai with burnt shoulders and still healing lung may not have been my smartest plan though. I was fine until we reached the fourth floor, where I had to set Judai against the wall and sit against the wall myself, catching my breath and staying still so as to not move my shoulders. I couldn't carry him anymore; he would have to walk himself.

I called his name softly, shaking him gently in hopes of waking him up, but I guess there's a reason he's a slacker, he is near impossible to wake up. After trying the gentle way, I called his name a little more forcefully, shaking him more too. It took several tries but I got those brown eyes to open again along with a sleepy, "What is it Yubel? You keep yelling at me."

Yubel, why did that name sound familiar? Did he mention anyone named Yubel when I last saw him. "Yubel? I'm not Yubel, Judai."

Rubbing open his eyes, Judai stared at me in confusion. "Did I call you Yubel on accident? Sorry Yusei, she's normally the one yelling at me to get up."

I should have just left the comment alone, but I needed answers and maybe this Yubel topic would provide them. "So who is she?"

Judai thought for a minute before replying. "You promise you won't think I'm strange and nuts?" I nodded, deciding not to mention the fact that he was claimed to be 'cognitively unstable. "She's a duel monster spirit that I merged with after she tried to take over the world, ruin Duel Academy, and kill my friends. She can be kinda hot headed but I guess that's to be expected with being exposed to the Light of Destruction for so long. She keeps me in line though and helps me in tough spots so she's all good." Judai rushed, beaming brightly.

I just stared, wide eyed, trying to decide whether he was being serious or if he was joking.

"Hey where are we exactly anyhow Yusei? Why's it so dark? What are we even doing sitting in a stairwell? Wait, how am I here with you? Did you come back to the past? That'd be so cool, I wish I could time travel, then I would…" Judai rambled, spouting off several hundred words in a matter of seconds.

"Judai!" I interrupted, causing him to pause mid-sentence and look at me with curiosity. "You mean to tell me that you don't remember anything of the last few days?"

Judai thought for a minute before responding, "No not really. I remember I was in a duel with someone but something happened while I was dueling, and then Yubel screamed and…" Judai trailed off, his expression growing to one of horror. "Yubel! Where is she? Yubel? Yubel!" He stood up quickly, running up a flight of stairs then looking over the railing, trying to find his duel spirit friend, only to run back down the stairs, searching frantically all while calling for the spirit.

Rushing after Judai, I grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from panicking anymore. "Judai, I'm sure wherever she is that she's fine, but now's not the time to be worrying about that. We're in the Public Security Bureau, which is like the police station back in your time, and I just broke you out of one of their containment cells, so we really need to go."

Judai looked at his shoes, contemplating what to do. After another several silent minutes, he agreed, "Fine. She's probably okay, maybe she's mad at me again. But it's weird, I don't sense her at all."

"Well we'll try to figure it out later, but let's get going." I started walking back down the stairs, Judai following closely on my heels.

* * *

**A.N~ Mwhahaha chapter 5 is done! :D This one took a little longer than I expected but I'm glad I finished it. You're lucky dear reader, I was going to stop earlier in this chapter, but I thought I should be nice and upload a little bit of a longer chapter. XD**

**While I was writing it, I had several opportunities to make it more of the classic definition of "yaoi" but personally, I don't really like writing that stuff. If anything I like writing something like a borderline yaoi, a kind of "take it as you want it," story. If you want to see Judai and Yusei as a pairing, you can see it that way, but at the same time it's not outright explicit so if you want to take it as them just being friends, that's possible too. I don't know though. Is this working as a style for you yaoi and non-yaoi people? Let me know.**

**Also, I don't know where this story is really going, I mean I know certain things, such as why Judai is having a schizophrenic, multiple personality meltdown, but other than that, it's kind of directing its own course, which hasn't happened in my writing in a long time and is rather exciting. ^^**

**Let me know what you guys think of this chapter and what you think of keeping it as a "take it as you want it" story. And sorry for the long note, but just some things that I've been meaning to mention for a while. :D**

**Hopefully will update soon(ish) with another chapter, till then!**

**~BlackLily22**


	6. Ice Cold

Chapter 6

Ice Cold

Getting out of the building was just as easy as getting in, the door had no alarm and we encountered no security guards. Judai and I headed from the back of the building to the front, jogging away from the Public Security Bureau.

The sky was beginning to lighten, the stars dimming and the moon set low on the horizon to the warm color of daybreak. The city would be waking up now, and with it the employees at the Bureau would be heading to work, which meant Judai and I needed to cover as much distance as possible from that building.

We ran for several blocks, neither one of us talking. My lungs were dying, the left part of my chest sore and aching with sharp pains, a constant hammer pounding against my ribs, while my shoulders registered every touch under my shirt. Running was difficult and I was reaching my limits, but what if Judai saw that I actually was hurt? Would he revert back to that unstable little kid, and then have the other gold-eyed Judai take control again? No, then everything I had done would be for nothing and it would be back to square one. I had to push on through the pain.

Judai interrupted my thoughts though, catching up to match my stride, he asked, "So, Yusei. Where are we going exactly?"

I slowed down to a walk, panting heavily. Shit, why did I not think any of this through? Going back to the apartment with Judai would just wake up Jack and Kurou, who'd probably wrestle Judai to the ground and send him back to the Bureau while forcing me to go back to the hospital. Yet I couldn't keep running like this all over Neo Domino, and neither could Judai judging by the flush of his face and his panting. If only I had my D-wheel. The streets were clear enough to ride on and it'd be faster that way. But where would we go? It'd need to be someplace off the radar but still safe, the last thing I wanted was to have to fight against some of the gangs that patrolled Neo Domino or the police.

Only one place came to mind, but getting there would definitely require my D-wheel. With a heavy sigh, I looked at Judai and answered his question; "We're heading to my place to get my D-wheel. Only problem is that Jack and Kurou will be there, but hopefully we can sneak in, roll it out and go from there."

Judai nodded, "Sounds like a plan!" We broke into a jog again as Judai continued in his normal hyper voice, "Whoa it's like Mission Impossible isn't it? Sneaking in at the dead of night… or the break of day I guess. Reminds me of this one time when Johan and I snuck into the cafeteria and ate all the fried shrimp. But then we were caught and Chronos made us reorganize all his different lipsticks. Do you know how many lipsticks that man has? More than an aisle of makeup! All for eating fried shrimp. Seems like a rather unfair punishment, but Johan and I just laughed the entire time at the fact that Chronos's favorite lipstick is one called 'Supreme Eggplant Elegance."

I chuckled as Judai continued talking the entire time we jogged to my apartment, never once pausing for more than a breath. I don't know how he did it. How he stayed so hyper and optimistic about everything. It was annoying at times, but his behavior and quirks reminded me of Rua, just in an 18-year-old body instead rather than a 12-year-old.

I guess some people just never grow up.

By the time we reached the apartment, dawn had broken and the sounds of the city floated on the back of the breeze. We swung around to the back, down the ramp to the garage door. Before opening the garage though, I looked through one of the windows nearby. To my dismay, I saw Jack's D-wheel sitting where it always did. Kurou's was gone though. He was probably out doing deliveries, or more than likely, at the hospital, which probably would have called the two of them after discovering my empty bed this morning.

Thinking for a moment, I couldn't come up with any good way of getting the D-wheel out without alerting Jack. Best course of action, do it as quickly as possible then get out of here. Whispering over my shoulder I told Judai the plan of action, him standing quietly and nodding in agreement.

"Ready?" I asked, bending down to grab the garage handle. Judai nodded, and quickly I pulled the door open, feeling my shoulders scream in protest from the sudden movement. Biting my lip to ignore the pain, I darted inside towards my red D-wheel, Judai close behind. Lifting the side arm, I slid into the seat, Judai doing the same, then pulled the side back down. Turning it on, I floored it as I saw Jack run out of his room screaming my name. I didn't look at him as I continued to accelerate, my knuckles turning white from the tension. With a screech of wheels and a rough turn, I drove the D-wheel out of the garage and up the ramp, landing it as gently as I could before continuing to accelerate and drive away.

As we drove from the apartment I could hear the screech of another D-wheel and the thump of it driving up the ramp. I accelerated even more, rounding corners of the streets in an attempt to throw off Jack. Judai clutched tightly to my torso though, burying his head into my shoulder. I wanted to apologize for having to accelerate so fast, but Jack was gaining and the roads were icier than I thought. Apologizing would have to wait.

Finally, I turned sharply out of the city blocks and onto one of the many high ways around Neo Domino. I accelerated even more, my heart pounding even quicker as the D-wheel skidded slightly from the acceleration. Although the roads looked mostly clear, it was still bitterly cold and any water that was on the street had refrozen. The wind bit at my cheeks and my hands grew cold from the exposure, but I just gripped even harder, enjoying the rush of riding again as adrenaline swept through my veins.

As I focused on the road, a beeping emitted from my D-wheel, signaling an incoming call. Before I could reach over to cancel the call, Jack's face appeared on the screen, the background behind him blurred from motion. "What the bloody hell are you thinking Yusei?" He shouted eyebrows furrowed deeply. "You leave the hospital without a trace and then get on your D-wheel while the roads are still icy and while you are in no condition to drive? Why are you doing this? Look at me Yusei! Tell me what's going on!"

I stared at the screen, anger boiling. Why couldn't they understand it? I'm trying to help Judai yet they think that all I am trying to do is a crime, that he is not worth trying to help. Why weren't they seeing the truth of the situation?

Taking a deep breath, I sighed, "I'm thinking I'm trying to help a close friend. I'm thinking that if anyone stands in the way of me helping him that there's going to be trouble. I'm thinking that those people don't understand the real problem here and are judging too quickly."

Jack didn't reply for a moment, thinking with a rather angry look boiling on his face. "Yusei, did you ever take a look at the situation through your friends' eyes? A random guy shows up who ends up putting you in the hospital by some unknown power and for an unknown reason, we have no idea who this guy is or why he's here, how you know him and why you are so dedicated to protecting him, yet you want us to understand and leave you be? We don't know the problem because you haven't given us any time to ask you about it. You keep running away before we can get any real information about what's going on. I don't care what happens to the boy in the red jacket, I care about what happens to you, to my closest friend. Would you real betray our friendship, one that has been strong for several years over one that is only a few days old?"

I let the question hang in the air, focusing on the road for a moment rather than looking at Jack. I wanted so much to tell Jack who Judai was and how I got to know him, but to do that would put Judai in danger. They would take him away, test him, and declare him insane because of his problems. He didn't deserve that, no one did. It didn't help the situation that I had no clue why or how Judai came to this time period and as of now Judai had no inclination to answer either of those questions. How could I explain something to Jack that I barely understood myself?

I felt Judai squeeze me, moving his head to whisper in my ear, "Yusei I don't want to come between you and your other friends. If me being around you is causing trouble, just let me off at the next exit. I didn't think I would cause so much trouble by coming for your help."

I glanced back at Judai, his brown eyes peaking over my shoulder and under the bangs of his chestnut hair. Despite what Judai said, my mind was already made up. I turned back to the screen, "Jack, when I understand fully what's going on, you'll be the first one I tell, but you have to trust me on this. I cannot desert another friend when they need me, and that's what you are asking me to do. So please, Jack, as my closest friend, respect my one request: give me some time to sort it out."

Before Jack could protest, I closed the call, and accelerated further, turning sharply off one highway to another, heading towards Daedulus Bridge. I glanced over my shoulder, watching Jack skid to a stop and watch me drive away. Silently I thanked the Crimson Dragon for having such great friends, and then I focused back on the road and sped towards the Satellite, Judai silently clutching for dear life.

* * *

Of course it decided to start sleeting as Judai and I rode across Daedulus Bridge towards the Satellite. The left over snow and cold temperatures weren't enough of a worry, so of course there just had to be sleet. Judai and I were soaked instantly, shivering as the wind whipped our faces. Despite being early morning, it was grey and storms brewed on the horizon, blowing quickly towards us. The road was slippery and made me slow down to a barely moving speed, even at such a slow speed, my D-wheel had trouble finding traction, slipping every other meter.

We rode in relative silence, me focusing on driving and Judai thinking. It was only after we got over the bridge and were speeding along the decimated streets of the outer rim of Satellite did Judai say a word. "Where are we headed Yusei?"

I slowed my D-wheel down, rounding one last corner before spying a large bare forest. We crawled along the last stretch of paved road before turning onto a dirt, snow covered path. Snow crutched beneath my tires as they frantically spun, trying to gain traction with no success. "Looks like we walk from here Judai," I said over my shoulder, turning the D-wheel off and throwing my leg over the side. Judai did the same, getting off and standing a few feet away as I got off. When Judai let go of my torso, I didn't realize how much pain his grip actually caused. My ribs seemed to moan with a painful ache and I found myself breathing heavier than normal.

Grabbing one of the handles and the front of the D-wheel, I began pushing it through the snow. The D-wheel was a little more successful in moving, but it was a slow task to move it.

Without warning, I saw Judai go to the other side of the D-wheel, grab the front and the side, and began to push. He looked up, a smile beaming on his red face. I felt my mouth twinge into a small smile of gratitude, and we began pushing the D-wheel along the worn path.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, Judai broke the cool silence. "So Yusei, you never did tell me where we are going?"

"A good friend's house, her name's Martha. She used to care for Jack, Kurou, and I when we were kids. I'm sure she won't mind us dropping by for a bit, sort things out and such." I replied, staring ahead at the winding road.

"Oh, okay. Wait, but what needs to be sorted out?" He asked.

I didn't reply for a moment, thinking over the best way to phrase what I wanted to say. "Well, I mean figure out what's going on with you. Why you are here, how'd you get here, who this Yubel character is, things like that. I'm hoping you can answer some of those questions for me Judai,"

Judai stopped, making me stop as well, and looked straight at me. "Did I never explain anything to you?" I shook my head, and he sighed. "Yet you say I've been here for several days? That's strange, I could have sworn I already explained to you what I remember."

"What you remember?" I wondered aloud. "You mean you lost your memories?"

"Not really, but there are certain things that I don't remember. I mean, I remember my name and my friends, but how I got here and what happened to Yubel is a little fuzzy." A pained expression surfaced on his face and he grasped his head with one hand. For just a moment, his eyes shifted color once again, before changing back to their usual color.

We stood in silence for a moment, each thinking our own thoughts. "Well, let's keep walking and you can tell me what you do remember. That may help answer at least some of my questions."

Judai nodded, and grabbed the D-wheel again. "Well, I do remember being in Domino city, I was dueling someone, but I can't remember who. And I feel like there was something important at stake, but I dunno. Anyhow I was dueling this guy and arguing with Yubel because she was giving me a hard time for not using my trap card, when out of nowhere, the guy pulls a blank card out and starts speaking gibberish. Next thing I knew, Yubel was screaming and there was a pain in my chest like someone was clawing at my lungs from the inside. I fell to the ground and started blacking out, but not before I saw Yubel be pulled into that blank card. The guy stood above me holding Yubel, and the last thing I remember of him was a toothy, shining grin and an extremely bright light surrounding him."

Judai paused in his story, wincing at the memories and clutching his chest with an arm. I gave him a concerned look, "You okay Judai? If the memories are too painful you don't have to tell me."

He shook his head. "No, it's alright Yusei. I barged in on you so you have a right to know why." He took a deep breath and continued. "When I came around, I had somehow ended up in a really dark room, but it was familiar too, because little rectangular mirrors were floating everywhere. I guess this part may have been a dream, but it felt so real. You know what I mean?"

I nodded. I understand more than you know Judai.

"The room seemed to go on forever, mirrors everywhere. Whenever I looked in the mirror, I saw a memory or a friend. But as I looked at the mirrors, the memories started going dark and turning black. That's when I came across one of my darkest memories. It was from my time in another dimension while I was looking for a friend. While I was there I…" Judai paused, another pained expression coming onto his face. I waited patiently for him to continue, doing my best not to look at him and keep walking.

"I did some really awful things. But you have to understand, Yusei, I wasn't myself. I was cruel and dark. I killed so many innocent people. But there was nothing I could do. It was only through my friends that I was stopped.

"So I saw these memories, but this mirror was strange, it grew wider and wider. It grew to the size of a door and out of nowhere steps a dark figure. He was like a moving shadow, writhing and slithering through the air. The figure moved towards me, and began whispering things and asking me questions. I don't know why but I began agreeing with him and allowed him to come closer to me. I swear I knew who he was, like he was a part of me, but I couldn't remember just who he was. I still can't remember what his name was or what he was saying. He was a part of me though, I just felt it." Judai fell silent, letting his last statement hang in the air.

"So you don't remember any thing about who he was?" I asked, thinking of the shadowy figure from my dream. Judai shook his head, staring at the snowy ground as he walked. "Well what happened after that Judai? What did the shadow do?"

Judai was about to start his story again, when he looked from me to in front of him. I followed his gaze, spying a grey, two-story house with several windows. Although cold outside, the house buzzed with a warm ambience, children running between the windows and muffled screams of laughter echoed off the walls. Typical Martha's house.

* * *

**A.N~ Blargh, that was a difficult chapter to write. -_- I apologize for it not being overly action packed but it was time to start explaining a bit of what's going, you know after over 15,000 words, and not one solid piece of backstory? It was necessary medicine. Gross, icky tasting medicine for me to write (especially from that point of view. How the hell would Judai retell a story in dialogue? :P The obstacles of writing fanfiction I suppose). At least half of the icky medicine is done, so yea! Of course, I hope, dear reader, you have a strong inference of who keeps bothering Judai because if not, I send you to go watch the GX anime again! :D**

**Also, as I was thinking and writing part of the backstory, an idea came to mind. Granted it depends on how this grows, but what would you guys think of either several chapters/ a part/ (other story maybe?.?) told from Judai's point of view? It seems cliché and I don't know if dear readers like yourself would be interested, so I leave it up to you guys. Feel free to tell me what you think about this idea of part of the story or a new story told from his POV.**

**Setting that idea aside, so there's chapter 6. I have an idea of what will go on in the next chapter, but it will likely take a while to write, just as this one did. **

**Let me know what you think so far dear reader. :3 And thanks for reading!  
**

**~BlackLily22**


	7. A Cacophony of Questions

Chapter 7

A Cacophony of Questions

I looked back at Judai, holding his gaze for a moment before pushing the D-wheel towards the house. Leaning it against a nearby tree, Judai and I trudged through the still falling sleet to the front door.

"Now there is one thing you may want to know about Martha," I started, looking at Judai as I knocked on the door. "She's a lovely woman and made a great mother figure, but she can be a little," just then the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a stocky woman, with dark but comforting brown eyes and coiled black hair. Wearing her usual brown dress and white apron, Martha was in the middle of drying a dish when she answered the door.

A smile crept onto my face as I started to say hi, but instead of audible words coming out, a painful yowl came out instead. Martha had thrown the towel over her shoulder, put the dish on a nearby table, and boxed my ear in the time it took me to start my sentence. "Yusei Fudo. What in God's name are you doing standing on my doorstep, wet and shivering and looking paler than the snow when you should be in the hospital?" Looking at her face, I could tell there were several other choice words she would have liked to say, but three kids stood behind her, peeking around the doors.

I was going to explain the situation but was stopped as more pain pierced from my ear. "Don't explain. I don't want to hear your excuses. The point is you shouldn't be standing here! I leave you boys on your own and this is how you come back? Not even a phone call in advanced. Such an ungrateful child." She interrupted, dragging me by the ear into the warm house. I gazed back at Judai, gesturing with my hand to follow.

Martha continued to drag me through the house and up the stairs, kids snickering at the strange scene and trailing us through the house. She only stopped after arriving at a small, vacant room with two beds, a nightstand next to each one and a white curtain between the two. A dresser with flowers and a lamp sat next to a window. She dragged me to the farthest bed and forced me to sit.

She left me there for a moment, shooed the kids out of the room, and closed the door behind them. Pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath, she turned back on her heels and glared at me. "I hoped I would never have to see you in this room again, Yusei, but you seem to have a knack for trouble. So, care to tell me what you got yourself into this time?"

I stared at the floor, trying to think of where to start. If I told her why I was put in the hospital, she'd surely call Security to have Judai taken away. Maybe if I stayed silent, she'd give up on a back-story, but who was I kidding, I was talking to Martha.

Martha sighed again, placing her hands on her hips. "You're not going to tell me again aren't you? Should have known better than to ask, you never would tell me much even when you were a wee sprout. Fine, don't tell me, but don't you dare think of getting up from that bed, you hear me Yusei? I'll be back with some fresh clothes for you." She turned to go, but turned back, staring at Judai in the corner. "Who are you, child? A friend of Yusei's?"

"Yes ma'am! Judai Yuki is my name!" Judai replied in a chipper voice. "I came with Yusei when we were driving from Neo Domino, and he rescued me from the Public Security Bureau. Though frankly, I don't know why I was there anyhow."

Martha stood staring at Judai as I did a mental face palm at Judai's reply. Martha glanced over at me, and with one eyebrow raised, "The Public Security Bureau?"

All I could do was shrug, an innocent look on my face, but I was interrupted as fire raced across my back, causing me to grimace. Martha's suspicions died away, replaced with worry. "We'll talk about that later," she said and left.

Judai stood there for a few moments, before bounding over to my bed. "She's kinda scary, but caring too. Are all mothers like that?"

I chuckled softly, my lungs aching at even this slight movement, but I shook my head. "Nope. Just Martha."

Judai beamed, "Well I like that about her!"

Another smile crept on my face, as I laid back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "Judai," I began. "Do you not have parents either? You make it sound like you didn't have a mom growing up."

Judai shook his head with a smile on his face, "No, I have a mom and dad too. They were always away traveling or working though, so I was at home alone mostly. Never got to see them. Never even came to the few district card game tournaments I made it into, always saying they had some meeting or presentation to attend."

"Did that bother you?"

"No, not really. I had some of the neighborhood kids to play with and Yubel of course was always there for me too, well for a bit anyhow. Before I entered junior high, I sent her to space with some cards I designed through the Kaiba Corporation. She kinda caused a few problems when I dueled, so I thought some of the space matter and waves would help her become good again. Though I guess it wasn't good for her, and it didn't help that my parents made me forget about Yubel."

"So how did you find her again? If she was sent to space and you forgot about her because of your parents, then what caused you to remember?" I asked, staring at Judai now.

"Well, she did that on her own, though not in the most friendly way. She kinda kidnapped my friends, transported us to a different dimension, and made me do some cruel things to people," Judai answered sullenly. "Everything worked out though. I ended up fusing Yubel's soul and mine so she would never be lonely again."

We sat in silence for a moment. Fusing one's soul with a duel monster spirit? I suppose that should not surprise me. Especially with how close Stardust and I are, so I guess Judai and Yubel are in the same boat. "You said earlier you don't know where she is, do you have her duel monster card though?"

Judai went silent for a moment, his hand moving to his pocket as he fished out his cards. It seemed like an eternity before he shook his head no and put the cards away.

The door opened with a creek and in stepped Martha, carrying a pile of clothes in her arms along with several bottles and bandage strips. She placed the clothes on the bed, separating them into two piles. "For you to change into. First though," she turned to Judai, "Judai, sweetheart, why don't you go get changed into these and freshen up. There's a bathroom down the hall and if you're hungry there's some oatmeal on the stove." It wasn't a recommendation, but a command hidden beneath a sweet voice.

Judai didn't question her and taking one of the piles of clothes, he left the room. Martha turned back to the bed, grabbing the bottle and bandage strips before turning to me. "Alright, kiddo, let's have a look. And maybe you can tell me how you got hurt again." Taking the jacket off was difficult, but the shirt caused so much pain that Martha ended up fetching a pair of scissors and cutting it off. As she stood over me, dabbing the burn with a strange ointment from the bottle and wrapping it with a bandage, I recounted what had happened the last few days. She didn't interrupt me or threaten to call the Sector Security when I told her who did this, and she didn't ask a single question. She just silently dressed the wound and listened.

When I was done talking, she sat on the other bed, absorbing what all I told her. Although I was still worried about what would happen to Judai, I was glad to finally tell somebody the full situation. Maybe she could even give me some advice on what to do.

I looked expectantly at her, waiting for either a rambling of criticism or a plethora of gentle advice. Instead though, she got up from the bed and walked to the door. "Martha?" I asked.

"Yusei, you're a man now. I can't tell you how to live your life, and though I can give you advice, I know you won't listen to it." Martha sighed.

"Well, let's say I would listen." I began.

"I'd tell you to leave that boy alone," she replied, a harsh tone slithering into her voice. "Judai obviously has had some problems in the past and is still going through something right now, but Yusei, it's not your job to burden his troubles. Do you see where that got you? And before you start about staying close to your friends, consider for a moment who your friends really are. When was the last time you saw this boy, Yusei? Has he ever been there to help you like Jack and Crow and Akiza have? I would leave him to sort his own business, and if he's a true friend, he should respect and understand that."

I didn't move. Let go of Judai? Let him solve his own troubles, even as bad and unstable as they are? How could I do that to a friend? How could I do that to Judai of all people. He'd never be one to ask for help, always smiling. He'd burden his problems without muttering a word, go off solving them for himself even when he should ask for help. How could I leave someone like him to figure things out?

Contemplating what Martha had said, I barely heard her say, "Don't think too much about it Yusei. Rest first. These problems and decisions will wait till tomorrow." She walked out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.

* * *

**A.N~ Wow. So for an EXTREMELY short chapter, this took a while to write. For that I am truly sorry dear readers! School got busy and due to being tired then and having a lack of motivation and inspiration to write, this took much longer than it should. And though I would have loved to gift you with a longer chapter than this, I need to give this story more thought on where it's going and what should/needs to happen. Though I have ideas, none are set in stone and are bound to need smoothing before I can even think of writing more. -_- **

**I will do my best to update as soon as I can, but I do not know when that will be. In the meantime, I will try to provide other stories if you are interested that I started a while ago, but have yet to post. Perhaps starting a new story will help get my creativity flowing again. I don't know... ^^;**

**If you have any questions about the story, feel free to ask me, and I will do my best to answer.  
Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you guys think so far! :)**

**~BlackLily22**


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